Middletown -- Say Goodbye To Impact Fees
MIDDLETOWN — SAY GOODBYE TO IMPACT FEES
MIDDLETOWN, RI (SEPTEMBER 23, 2026) – The Town of Middletown looks like it’s getting rid of most of its impact fees on new development.
Saying the fees had their time and place years ago, the Town Council said they now seemed to be hindering new growth — particularly affordable and market rate housing.
At its meeting Monday night in Town Hall, the council asked Town Solicitor Peter B. Regan to put together an ordinance for its next regular session on Oct. 5 to “sunset” impact fees by the end of the year.
The move would apply to the town’s Recreation, General Government, Police and Fire Impact Fees on all new development, including Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). The Sewer Impact Fees would remain for new development, but not ADUs, based on the discussion earlier this week.
“When we’re trying to encourage housing and affordable housing,” council President Paul M. Rodrigues said. “I think anything we can do at this point — besides the sewer fee — could help.”
When the fees were approved in Fiscal 2005, the council said the world was a much different place.
Communities across the country were under siege from development, with housing and students in schools seen as four letter words in many places.
Councilor Charlie Roberts said as a national home builder developer at the time, he saw municipalities implement development fees to discourage growth throughout the United States.
“These impact fees were used to slow us down,” Roberts said. “Back then, we were (seen as) the bad guys. We were (seen) as the ones adding to urban sprawl and overloading their school districts. This is all across the country, not just here in New England. I think these (impact fees) are too steep.”
According to a report from Finance Director Marc Tanguay, Middletown has collected close to $2.2 million in impact fees since 2005.
That included $807,790 for sewers, $364,383 for recreation, $129,543 for general government, $296,529 for police and $574,085 for fire.
He wrote that money has been used for a mix of purposes. Among those include capital improvements to the sewer system, the purchase of 326 Coddington Highway for the expansion of an existing pump station there, athletic fields and debt payments for the fire and police stations.
Town Planner Ronald Wolanski said Middletown is one of 11 communities across Rhode Island that charge impact fees, including Portsmouth.
Based on the town’s review of the existing fees, Middletown’s charge of more than $7,000 for a single-family home was the highest in the state. The average impact fee across the state was approximately $3,500.
“Some towns that had been collecting impact fees in the past have stopped collecting impact fees,” Wolanski said. “Some of the towns that we (the Planning Department) talked with that are currently collecting impact fees are considering doing away with impact fees.
“There are a couple lines of reasoning for that. One being potential impact on housing development. Being where we are now as a state, trying to encourage residential development, impact fees, by some, are perceived to be moving in the opposite direction.”
Rodrigues said keeping the impact fees on sewer growth made sense because the town was looking to relieve burden on the Wave Avenue sewer pump station in the southern end of Middletown.
That facility handles about 90 percent of the effluent produced in Middletown before it’s pumped up Memorial Boulevard and eventually to the Connell Highway sewer treatment plant in Newport. Visit https://mdl.town/NYCU-CHPS for more about that project.
Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown said the balances of the existing accounts were already earmarked for projects. For example, the remaining recreational money would be used to help pay for pickleball courts on John Clarke Road behind the Newport County YMCA.
Council members said they’d like to see that money — about $338,000 — used for those projects, but that the town not charge any new fees moving forward. And by ultimately getting rid of the fees, it should help ease up costs somewhat for new developments.
“If we’re trying to encourage (development) and then we’re charging these fees on top of it, an extra $8,000 or $10,000, or $7,000 for a single-family (house) minimum, it doesn’t make sense to me at this point,” Rodrigues said. “Back then, it did, but a lot of things have changed.”
Document Link: https://mdl.town/NYCU-Impact
About Middletown
The Town of Middletown is a vibrant municipality located on Aquidneck Island, known for its scenic beauty, historic landmarks, diverse economy and strong sense of community. For more information about all we have to offer, visit MiddletownRI.gov online.
Media Contact
Matt Sheley
Public Affairs Officer
401-842-6543
msheley@middletownri.gov
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
